AliousLeeds United are sitting pretty at the top of the Championship table after a brilliant round of results that swung the promotion race into Daniel Farke’s favour after 24 games.
Going into the weekend, Leeds and Sheffield United were on level points at the top. But the Blades could only manage a draw against West Brom, before Sunderland suffered a 1-0 loss to Stoke City in injury timeLeeds took to the field against Derby ahead of Burnley’s clash with Middlesbrough and knew a win over Paul Warne’s side would take them two points clear. They got just that, albeit by a very narrow margin.
It took Leeds until the 79th minute to score the only goal of the game, when substitutes Manor Solomon and Joel Piroe combined to set-up Brenden Aaronson to score – netting his seventh effort of the seasonJon Newsome in awe of new Leeds United star Ao Tanaka
Daniel Farke had rotated his Leeds side ahead of the game, making four changes. In came Mateo Joseph, Largie Ramazani, Wilfried Gnonto and Ao Tanaka, ahead of a New Year’s Day clash against BlackburnLeeds fans were unimpressed with Ramazani, with Joseph and Gnonto struggling to make an impact but as ever, Tanaka was super in midfield. Farke only dropped him at Stoke to give the Japan star a bit of rest.
Former Leeds man Jon Newsome told BBC Radio Leeds that Tanaka has been a wonderful signing for Leeds: “Seamless. Like he’s never been away, never gives the ball away, but he does the other side as well“Gets blocks in, nicks it from the strikers or the wingers, gets the body in. An all-round super footballer, some addition to the squad. He’s got an abundance of talent,” Newsome added, discussing TanakaAo Tanaka’s stats from Leeds United win against Derby
It hands Farke a difficult decision to make ahead of the New Year. Clearly, Ethan Ampadu has got to start in this Leeds side but who goes with him – the well-rounded Tanaka, or set-piece specialist Joe Rothwell.
Ao Tanaka’s stats for Leeds in win over Derby:89 minutes, 7.4 FotMob rating
69 touches, 49 successful passes, 55 attempted (89%)
One tackle, two interceptions, six defensive actions
Five duels won, seven attemptedIt is a difficult one, and a situation that Ilia Gruev must be concerned about. Tanaka’s showing on Sunday was superb without actually doing anything noteworthy, but as a transitional midfielder, that’s a positive.
He gets on his work with quietly, without fuss. For a player that has only played in Germany’s second tier and Japan before joining Leeds, it is quite remarkable that he has taken so well to English football
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